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Borders Railway

The Borders Railway will re-establish passenger railway services, for the first time since 1969, from Edinburgh through Midlothian to Tweedbank in the Scottish Borders. Passenger services will commence on Sunday 6 September 2015.

Status:

Under Construction

The £294m (2012 prices) project remains on schedule to be delivered on time and within budget. The new line will deliver major economic and social development opportunities by providing a fast and efficient rail link connecting communities in the Scottish Borders and Midlothian to Edinburgh and beyond. It will significantly increase the accessibility of jobs for the people of Midlothian and the Scottish Borders. As a result of creating an attractive public transport alternative to the car, approximately 60,000 peak car trips per year will be cut from the region’s roads.

Construction of the new Borders Railway commenced in April 2013 and significant progress can be seen along the route. Tracklaying will be completed in February 2015 with construction scheduled for completion in June 2015 with passenger services available, following a period of driver training, on 6 September 2015.

An estimated 866 directly employed staff have worked 2.1 million hours since construction began. Including supplier personnel directly employed by the project, the total number of project jobs is in excess of 1,100 with local people and suppliers the main beneficiary.

Borders Railway Timetable

The service timetable that will operate on Borders Railway from September has now been published by ScotRail and can be found on the ScotRail website.

Borders Railway Blueprint

On 17 November 2014, the First Minister set out an ambition to realise the full economic benefits of the new Borders Railway, transform tourism opportunities and open up communities in South-East Scotland as new places to live, work, visit, learn, play and grow.

In addition to the 600,000 journeys expected to take place, the First Minister declared that Midlothian and the Borders should aim over time at attracting 1 million travellers down the new railway line.

Plans include:

Shawfair, a 4,000 new home community with local amenities and a school build around the rail way in Midlothian due to open in September 2016;

A pilot scenic steam train experience;

An iconic home for the Great Tapestry of Scotland;

A modern Central Borders Business Park; and

Making existing attractions, such as the National Mining Museum Scotland at Newtongrange, more accessible as a result of new, faster public transport links.

Hardengreen timelapse

Four bridge beams were successfully installed over the weekend of 14 to 17 February as part of the construction of the new Hardengreen rail bridge. The time-lapse footage below shows the 1,200 tonne crane and the four 107 tonne beams being hoisted into place. Find out more.